OCM: National athletes will pay heavy price if found using banned substances

03 Jun 2019 / 10:19 H.

KUALA LUMPUR: With the Philippines 2019 SEA Games approaching, Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) medical and anti-doping committee chairman, Datuk Dr SS Cheema (pix), warned athletes that they’ll have to face the music if caught using prohibited substances.

He said OCM and the National Anti-Doping Agency (Adamas) will be conducting anti-doping tests with a focus on weightlifting, swimming, athletics and badminton, which are among the sports listed in the high-risk category.

“We have zero tolerance on this matter. I hope athletes for the 2019 SEA Games will give their full cooperation because we want athletes to be free of banned substances,” he told Bernama.

He further advised: “Don’t ever take a supplement without consulting National Sports Institute officers and don’t listen to advice from outsider saying that a (certain) supplement is good for performance, etc.”

When contacted, Adamas deputy director, Nishel Kumar, said anti-doping talks for national athletes will continue and “we will announce the number of athletes for the doping test once OCM informs us of the exact number of athletes going to the 2019 SEA Games”.

After failing a doping test, three athletes including national diver, Wendy Ng Yan Yee, were stripped of their Kuala Lumpur 2017 SEA Games medals by the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF). — Bernama